Brown Eyed Girl
by thematsaidwelcome
Summary: Rick loves Michonne, and just wants her to give him a chance to show her how much, despite what she thinks would be a burden to him, he wouldn't want it any other way. AU


"Hey, I brought you one of those shake things. Ms. Loretta said you needed it. She thinks you're looking too skinny."

"How is that even possible? I just had a baby five weeks ago, I still can't fit in my favorite jeans." Rick rolled his eyes perusing her body, that was perfect to him in every way. "It's probably one of those lactation shakes. That woman won't be happy until I can feed a whole nursery." She took the mason jar filled with a light green substance from Rick, twisting the metal cap off and smelling it. "Huh, looks worse than it smells." She took a small sip and nodded her head at the surprisingly pleasant flavor. "You wanna try it?"

"Uh...no. I don't need to…" He looked down at his chest and smiled shyly.

"Oh my god, you're such a guy."

"Where's my girl?" Rick watched Michonne smile through another sip of the homemade shake, her eyes darting towards him. She took her time placing the mason jar on the table and straightening out her book. Nap time meant study time, and Rick knew that. "Oh come on, you already put her down, Michonne?"

"She went down on her own, Rick." She took another sip of the shake. "It's amazing what a full belly and a clean diaper can do for the sleep needs of a newborn."

"She's the reason I came over here." He was kidding and she knew it, but the balled up piece of paper flying at his head told him she didn't appreciate his joke. "How long ago did her eyes close?"

"Thirty minutes ago. And I'm hoping to get another hour or so, so keep your voice down."

"I'll be quiet." He whispered. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, gulping down half of it before walking back to the living room, unbuttoning his shirt to let it hang open over his white tee and sat next to Michonne at the coffee table where she was studying. "Foreign language again, huh?" He asked when he picked up her chemistry papers.

"I don't know why you pretend to not know what this stuff says. We took the same classes."

"Yeah, but you kept going. I hopped off that train as soon as my diploma was in my hand. One degree is enough for me."

"Slacker. Well in two months when I have two, don't try and catch up."

"I would never. Besides, you'll be making the big bucks as a nurse and I think I might enjoy being a kept man."

"Ugh! Not this again Rick." Michonne folded her arms over her chest and huffed out an exasperated sigh. Rick opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the soft sounds of a baby's cry. The monitor sitting on the table blinked with flashing green lights at the small whine. Michonne looked at him with wide eyes.

"Hey I didn't wake her up. She probably just knows I'm here. You know how much she likes me." Rick moved to get up, but stopped and placed a kiss to Michonne's cheek before he left. She couldn't hold her chagrin with him knowing he was dashing off to be with her daughter. Friends since high school, they had always had an attraction, but were too scared to pull the trigger on their feelings. Settling to know everything about each other, inside and out without the "complications" of a more intimate relationship. It was after a drunken one night stand almost a year ago, that Michonne went to Rick crying. Not believing that she's made such a bad decision sleeping with a stranger who didn't even stay after long enough for her to get his name. Rick assured her that he would always be there for her and would never judge her. He said it again when she found out she was pregnant and just about every month thereafter. He promised to always be there for her, finally confessing his feelings in her eighth month. She didn't want him to feel obligated to her and the child she carried. She wanted to give him an out, allow him to fall in love with someone that didn't carry the baggage of a child that wasn't his. But he told her without hesitation, "I don't want an out. I want you, and everything that comes along with you."

"Hey there beautiful." Rick gently picked up the infant, weighing her in his arms. She wore a yellow onesie with purple polka dots. Her chunky cinnamon colored legs and little feet with equally little toes always gave him pause that such a small thing hold have such a gigantic hold on him. "You get bigger everyday. You weren't this heavy yesterday." He kissed her forehead and smiled at the coo that she let out. "I missed you today Josephine. You and your mama are the brightest part of my day." He kissed her cheek and let her wrap her tiny hand around his finger. "Did you talk to her like I asked you to? You were supposed to talk her into giving me a chance. Tell her how much you like me, because I absolutely love her...and you. You know what you are? _You, my brown eyed girl_." Rick continued to serenade her on his way out of her room. Michonne wiped the tears from her face before Rick rounded the corner with Josephine in his arm, showering her with more kisses.

"You know, she's gonna have a permanent mark on her cheeks from all the kisses you give her." It was far from a complaint, just an observation. She had seen Rick plant more kisses on Josephine than she could count. Doting on her with a passion that would rival any biological father.

"Oh she loves my kisses." Rick returned to his spot beside Michonne and made faces at Josephine as she stared up at him in wonder. In awe that the man she was looking at had an endless supply of faces to make. Michonne was equally awed, but more so by the fact that Rick had rooted himself into their lives, staking claim of something he could have easily walked away from and she would not have blamed him one bit. "Don't you Jojo? You love my kisses."

"Jojo?"

"Yeah. I always wanted a little girl to give a nickname to. One only I called her. What do you think about Jojo? You like that Josephine?"

"Rick…"

"Before your mama starts, Jojo, let's remind her how much I love you and her and I have for a very long time." He looked at Michonne with sincerity in his eyes. "I want us to be a family. Michonne, look at her. See how her pretty brown eyes light up whenever I'm around. Almost as much as yours do."

"That's because you're the only man she ever sees."

"That's how it should be...See." They both looked at Josephine who had what Rick saw as a smile, but Michonne knew was gas. "I make her happy." The rumble from Josephine's stomach made Michonne's lip turn up in a knowing smile, and the way Rick wrinkled up his nose made her laugh.

"It doesn't even stink, Rick.

"Well it's not flowers, Michonne."

"Are you gonna go change her?"

"I will if you say yes."

"Say yes?"

"Say you'll make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife. Jojo already thinks it's a great idea."

"You can't use her for your own gain, Rick. That's not fair."

"What's not fair is you turning down my proposal. Until you give me a good reason why we shouldn't be a family...why Jojo shouldn't have my last name, I'll keep asking. I'm not going anywhere Michonne."

"But you can."

"I don't want to. I was in this for the long haul before you found out you were having her." Rick looked at Josephine again who now had a relieved smile on her face. "You ready to get that clean diaper now, brown eyes?" He kissed her again. Two pecks to each cheek, then one to Michonne's forehead before he got up and disappeared down the hallway to tackle the task of remedying Josephine's dirty diaper. Michonne blew out a breath once he was no longer in sight. Watching him with her daughter clouded her brain, it was the most precious thing she'd ever seen. Rick's face lit up and so did Josephine's. She could see them 10, 20, 50 years from now, happy and laughing. Both her and Rick, with heads full of grey hair as they watched their grandkids and great grandkids. She smiled to herself of the possibilities. All she had to do was unsheath her heart and hand it over to the man that would cherish and protect it forever. So why was it so hard?

Rick laid Josephine down on the white changing table. It matched her crib and dresser and contrasted perfectly with the lavender walls and lemon and turquoise accents of her room. He remembers how he almost went crazy shopping with Michonne as she narrowed down the color pallet and picked out accessories for the not yet born baby girl. Changing her mind several times over a few weeks time and shooting down any suggestion he made about color choices because all he knew of baby colors was pink and blue and the occasional green, if you were waiting to find out the sex of your baby. Looking around at the expertly decorated room, he knew that all Michonne's hard work had been well worth it because Josephine had a room fit for a princess...or a warrior...or whatever she wanted to be.

"She loves when you sing to her." When Michonne walked into the nursery, Rick was singing his favorite song. Brown Eyed Girl had been crooned out by him since the day she was born. As soon as his crystal blues locked with her inquisitive dark walnut eyes, his mouth opened and he's been singing it to her ever since. "She doesn't like my singing at all."

"It's all about the experience." Rick finished buttoning up the onesie, tossed the diaper in the nearby bin, then scooped up Josephine in his arms. "You have to hold her just right." He walked over to Michonne so she could see up close. "Then you have to gently rock her from side to side. Put a little hip action in it." Michonne smiled. "She's not too into bouncing. Just a gentle rock. Then...you have to give her kisses throughout the song. _You, my brown eyed girl_." Rick placed a kiss to Josephine's cheek. "What do you say Jojo? You gonna let your mama sing to you? I just told her how you like things. I think she'll do just fine." He looked over at Michonne, before asking, "You think you can do it Michonne?"

"I do." With those two words and the exchanging of rings, Rick and Michonne became husband and wife.

"You may kiss your bride." Rick made a display of preparing his lips and the attendees laughed at his antics. Michonne was all too aware of her now husbands goofy side, so she let him have that one. But then he looked deep in her eyes and all joking was put aside. He zeroed in on those luscious lips of hers, the ones he'd been completely captivated with since the first time he tasted them, and even more so in the last two months since she'd agreed to be his wife.

"You ready?" He asked. He had meant to draw out the suspence, make their family and friends wait for a bit, but Michonne in her eagerness had raised up on her tiptoes and planted the kiss of all kisses to his pink lips before he even knew what was happening. He figured it out quickly and pulled her into him by her waist so her hands could find their rightful place in his curls at the back of his head. The whistles, hoots and howls of the guest went unnoticed as the kiss went on. Both Rick and Michonne had no intention of stopping. Their lips pressed to each other, the only place they wanted to be. Finally after minutes, the officiant cleared his throat as loud as he could and the kiss broke. Swollen lips and devoted eyes looked at him, then they looked out to their audience who had the blushes that they should have been wearing, but Rick and Michonne were no where near ashamed of their public display.

"It is my honor to present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grimes."

The reception was lively, lots of food and dancing. Both Rick and Michonne's mothers worked hard to make this a day that their kids would never forget. They were over the moon that the best friends had realized their love ran deeper than they both knew and even more excited for the family they had become. They beamed as they looked at the center of the dance floor to see the three of them dancing together. Michonne in an off the shoulder pale pink crepe mermaid style dress and Rick in grey slacks and matching vest with a dark navy tie. They choose non traditional attire, even down to Michonne's wedding band. They skipped the engagement ring and she happily wore the plain thin platinum wedding band with pride. Rick wore a wider, similar style that he couldn't wait to show off.

"So, my husband, how happy are you right now?"

"I think we busted through that happiness ceiling a long time ago. We need to find a new name for this." He kissed her lips and pulled her just a little closer. What do you think Jojo, we can come up with a new name?" Josephine in all her infant glory opened her mouth to let out a tired yawn before laying her head on Rick's shoulder.

"I think that's a yes." Michonne said, smoothing a hand over Josephine's black curls and down her pale pink satin covered back.

"Of course it's a yes. You know why?" Michonne looked at him expectantly and he looked from her to Josephine. "Cause you... and you, my brown eyed girls."


End file.
